


Finding You

by orangecreamsicle



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A+ Parenting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bullying, Child Neglect, Introspection, M/M, Mentions of drugs, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phobias, Shitty Childhood, Supernatural Elements, Violence, mentions of illegal activities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-10 14:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2029215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangecreamsicle/pseuds/orangecreamsicle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is an undeclared college student, not sure what direction he wants to take with his life.  Both his family and alleged friends are constantly giving him shit, trying to force him to decide his future and that just makes him angry and even less decided.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, he’s also always been able to see ghosts.  For the most part they don’t bother him because apart from kind of seeing them and sensing their general presence, it’s never escalated further.  But one day a particular ghost manages to communicate with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I was kicking this idea around in my head and it refused to leave, so I had to give it a home. I'm not sure if I will be able to update this on a regular basis since I'm still working on my other fic. I will do my best! (sweats nervously)
> 
> Also, I wasn't sure how to rate it. I have it under Teen for language and suggestive dialogue, but I don't see it going any higher.  
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> 

* * *

 

 

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!

Oh great it’s morning again.

I swung my arm out to hit the silence button on my alarm clock.  That’s right.  I turned the damn thing off.  I would hit snooze, but let’s face it.  I don’t want to get up.  I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination.  If I could stay up all night and sleep the daylight hours away, that would be so ideal!  No, I’m not a vampire.  I just… don’t… like… _people_.  I guess.  Or interacting with them.  _Especially_ interacting with them.  And in the suburbs in the daytime it seems most of them are out there wanting to do just that; especially on campus.  And that’s fine, as long as they leave me out of it.

Today is Thursday and that means Physics class first thing in the morning.  Yay! 

Oh.  Wait a minute.  That’s right.  I cannot, for the life of me, follow what is going in that class for shit! 

So, why was I even trying?  I don’t even know! 

Fact: whether I attend or not, I’m going to inevitably fail. 

I don’t know why I even decided to take that particular class in the first place.  I suppose it’s because I’m undeclared, this is my second year and everyone, I mean _everyone,_ is pressuring me to pick a major already.  But I have no clue what I want to do for the rest of my life!  I don’t even know what I like.  I mean, I kind of like everything to a certain extent.  But I don’t like anything enough to the point where I think, ‘this is what I want to do until the day I die.’  The heavens have not opened up and bathed me in their glorious light of enlightenment.  I’m still waiting for that moment when I have my grand epiphany and everything clicks into place.  Does that even really happen?  I don’t know.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m a complete failure.  There are subjects I kind of like, like Chemistry.  The classes seem easy to me and everyone keeps pushing me in that direction.  But do I see myself actually _being_ a chemist?  Hell no!  The only thing I can picture myself doing at any given time is travelling the world, trying new foods, and exploring different places.  Of course that’s just irresponsible daydreaming.  That’s what everyone tells me.  Thanks for being so supportive everyone. 

Really. 

Thank you.

“Eren!”

Ah, that would be my roommate shoving my shoulder into the mattress, like he personally would get penalized for not making sure I got to class on time.

“Eren, come on!  You can’t skip again.  You’ll fail for sure!”

I try to ignore him, pretend I’m in too deep a sleep to be awoken, but he’s nothing if not persistent.  There’s only so much being shoved around I can take before I lose my patience.  Plus, he’s almost shoved me completely off the bed by this point.

“All right!  All right!” I grumble, turning to face him.  “I’m up, Armin.  Ok?  Calm down.”

He smiles down at me with those giant glacial eyes of his, as if my obeying him made him the happiest kid in the world.  I’m so irritated, I contemplate bodily harm.  If he wasn’t my best friend…  Ahh…  Who am I kidding?  The kid is too soft spoken and genuinely trying to help.  I wouldn’t do anything to him, no matter what.  No matter how annoying his perfect honor student ethics are.

“Eren, we talked about this,” he says, crossing his arms, going into full lecture mode.  “It doesn’t matter if you think you’re going to end up choosing this as your major or not, you still need to try your best.  You know how your father is.  And not to mention Mikasa-”

“Oh my god!” I groan cutting him off.  “Please do not tell Mikasa, Armin!”  I plead with him. 

My father- otherwise known as Mr. Perfect Doctor with his perfect life who always knew what he wanted and all you need is discipline and I’m just too disorganized and lazy; he will just lecture me for hours on end about what a disappointment I am and how much money he’s wasting on me.  But Mikasa?  Mikasa will make sure I regret it both emotionally and physically.  I don’t know why no one will believe me when I tell them she bullies me and has done so our whole lives.  Ok, I may be a boy, but she’s freakishly strong and she uses that to her complete advantage. 

“I won’t,” he says smugly.  Bastard.  He knows what he’s doing.  “Just get going already!”

I grab fresh clothes and run to the showers without another word. 

I hate the dorms and I hate the showers the most.

You see, I can see and feel ghosts.  Not all the time, not like that movie where the kid can see and hear them everywhere on a constant basis.  I’m pretty sure I’d be in a psych ward if that were the case.

They’re harmless enough, just kind of _there_.  Hanging out, I guess.  They’ve never tried to communicate with me, and they don’t seem to notice me, so I just got used to avoiding them.  I mostly see them in older buildings, like the dorms; most frequently in the showers- hence my strong distaste- and some of the older lecture halls.

I try to steer clear of those areas.

Especially when I’m alone. 

Especially at night.

 

\---

Arrrghhh…! 

I groan internally.

Why did I let him talk me into coming today?  Oh, that’s right because he threatened me. 

Thanks friend.

That’s what I keep thinking as I sit in the lecture hall listening to Professor Smith go on and on about suspended weights, and forces acting on them, and it may as well all be in Latin because I don’t even fucking know!  The students near the front are taking notes furiously, hanging by his every word.  I have a sneaking suspicion that only some of them are actual Physics majors while a majority of them are here just hoping to catch the professor’s attention. 

Fact: Professor Smith has quite the reputation amongst the students.  Why?  Because he’s hooooot! 

Not that I’ve noticed. 

Blonde hair that is always perfectly styled, cornflower blue eyes that reek of seduction, a chiseled jaw line that screams of masculinity.  He’s tall- or should I say statuesque, and generally built like a Greek statue complete with an abundance of muscles that he seems to enjoy showing off.  You think I’m kidding?  He’s always giving his lectures in sandals, cargo shorts and tight pastel colored t-shirts.  No joke.  And who am I to complain when his outfits showcase his perfectly bronzed skin.  Trousers, sweater vests, tweed jackets?  Pretty sure the renowned Professor Smith doesn’t know what they are.  He’s known for being an eccentric like that, but the man is also a total genius so no one tells him to dress otherwise. 

I’m not even gonna lie; if I thought I stood any kind of a chance with him, I would climb that man like a tree.  No second thoughts.  But let’s face it, that’s not going to happen.  I mean, it would be pretty pathetic on my part. 

Oh hey Professor Smith!  I’m totally failing your class, everyone thinks I’m a lazy good for nothing and I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.  Wanna date me?

Ouch!  It hurts to even think about it.

I’ve managed to sneak in through the back without anyone noticing.  Some of the students here are recording the lecture while they doze off. 

Damn, why I didn’t think of that?

Oh look, Jean Kirschstein is one of those naptime wonders.  Ugh, I hate that asshole.  He’s so goddamn adorable.  Right now in particular, his relaxed face is so serene- like an angel, his back and shoulders lifting and falling ever so slightly to the rhythm of his light snoring; his cheek resting on his hand, the unconscious idiot drooling slightly.  His hair slightly disheveled, his soft eyelashes fluttering… open?- wait.  Crap!  Oh my god he’s waking up.  Look away, Eren you moron! 

Oh, nevermind, false alarm.  I take another long moment to drink him in, enjoying the view while I can because soon enough he will wake up and then he’ll open his big jerk mouth and I will get pissed off. 

Fact: Jean and I always argue.  Always. 

That’s just the nature of our friendship.  We’re both competitive with each other to the point that it drives everyone around us to tears.  The truly sad part is, I don’t even know what we’re arguing about half the time.  Ymir says we’re just peacocking, trying to secretly get each other’s attention.  She _may_ be right, but I will deny it to the death. 

I think last time we managed to get into a fight about our choice in coffee.  The thing is, we both like our coffee almost exactly the same way; cappuccino with half and half.  The conflict began when he noticed me emptying packets of sugar into mine.  I was apparently ruining the integrity of his favorite drink.  I told him he was disgusting for having it that bitter.  Somehow that escalated to comments about his fat ass and then we almost came to blows.  I’m not proud of it, but he started it.  He didn’t have to make that comment.  Why couldn’t the pretentious asshole just shut up?    

“Eren.”

The whisper beside me made me jump in my seat.

“Sorry,” Marco whispered sheepishly.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“That’s ok,” I answered with a light chuckle.  It’s not like I was ogling your boyfriend or anything.  “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if I could borrow your notes for yesterday’s Chem lecture,” he asked shyly, his cheeks flushing slightly.

You see Marco is another straight A student who could easily give Armin a run for his money.  I did notice he wasn’t in class yesterday, but didn’t really think anything of it.  I mean, Marco wouldn’t skip class unless it was for a really good reason.  Hmm.  Though seeing him so healthy right now, it’s obvious he didn’t skip for health reasons.

“Of course, but I don’t have them with me right now.  Can meet you somewhere later?”

“Oh,” he seemed a little disappointed.  “Jean and I are kind of going out of town for the weekend after Psych this afternoon, so I don’t think I’ll be able to really meet you anywhere…”

Going away for the weekend?  Had their relationship progressed to that level already?  Ew gross!  I did not need to know that.  Of course, being the walking teenage hormone that I was, my mind immediately went to stray territory.  Is that why he couldn’t make Chem yesterday.  Were they…?

As if he could guess my thoughts, Marco started fidgeting in his seat, his eyes unable to meet mine, his cheeks getting redder by the second.

“Uh, you know what?” he blurted out suddenly, moving to leave.  Ooh he’s flustered.  “Nevermind.  I’ll just ask someone else.  Thanks anyway, though!”

I grabbed a hold of his arm before he could get out of his seat. 

“I can meet you at the Psych lecture hall.  As long as you get them today, that would be fine, right?”  As long as I didn’t have to actually go _inside_ the lecture hall, that is.

“Really?” he said oozing of relief. 

“Of course!” I beamed at him. 

He didn’t have to know that I currently had mental images of him and Jean canoodling around in my brain.  _Gross_ mental images.  And I couldn’t seem to stop myself for some reason.  Oh god, what is wrong with me?  I’m going to laugh in his face right now if he doesn’t leave.  Go away man!  Shoo!

“I know I probably seem really rude, pressuring you and everything.  But spring break is next week and I’ll be heading home, you know?”

I nodded, pressing my lips together to keep my mouth under control.

“Thank you so much!  I’ll see you later, ok?”

I waved and when he was out of sight, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.  I covered my mouth stifling the hysterical laughter that had been struggling to be free.  Luckily at that same moment, the lecture ended, so everyone was noisily getting their things together to leave around me.  Jean walked by behind me and smacked me upside the head as he passed by.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” he says teasingly, giving me a lopsided smile as he leaves.

If only you knew buddy. 

If only you knew.

 

\---

 

Lunchtime came around and I was a ravenous shell of a human being.  Thanks to Armin’s inconsiderate babysitting tactics I didn’t get the chance to eat breakfast that morning, and my stomach was reminding me in the most painful way that it had needs.  I didn’t really feel like being around campus because one of my friends was bound to find me and either a) rope me into doing something they considered fun which I would not find the slightest bit fun or b) remind me that I am a loser and ask if I’ve decided on a career path yet while they go on and on about their chosen major and every excruciating detail they found so fascinating about it.  Either way, they pretty much just wanted company.  And seriously, anybody but me would be a good choice.

I headed to the nearest shopping center, which was just a couple of blocks away from campus.  There’s a little café I like to visit when I want to hide out from everyone.  It’s hard to get time to yourself at the dorms because there are always people around.  At the same time, there isn’t really anyone I could talk to.  It was a strange kind of loneliness I felt with so many other kids my age around.  I guess I just couldn’t relate to anyone.  Always the odd man out.  Speaking of odd, I found I could weirdly relate to the owner of this café.  Her name is Hanji.

Fact: she’s crazy like a cursing dolphin. 

“You look like shit,” she greeted.

“That’s good news for you then,” I deadpanned.  “I’ll need dessert on top of my usual, please.”

“Coming right up!”

She rang me up and handed me my drink.  I headed to my usual corner table for two- which would only be occupied by me- and sat as usual facing the wall so there would be no chance of me making eye contact with anyone who might come by.  I put my phone on vibrate so I wouldn’t be interrupted and opened my book to where I had left off.  Yes, I’m a nerd that way ok.  I can’t even have eBooks like everyone else in this paperless age.  I like the feel of the book in my hand, the smell of print and the added bonus of not getting a headache from staring at a computer screen all day long.  So sue me.

“You want to talk about it?” Hanji asked, setting down the plate of my turkey panini with avocado, pickle and fries. 

Oh my god, it smelled so good!  I almost wanted to be rude and ask her to go away so I could gorge myself in peace, but I restrained myself.  At least my father wouldn’t be disappointed by my manners. 

“It’s not anything new, really,” I started, picking a piece of the sandwich off and popping it into my mouth.

“Oh, still not decided huh?”

Yeah, she knows everything about me. 

“It’s not even that anymore, you know?  I get it, ok?  I need to pick a major.  I need to make a decision.  They have made that loud and clear.  It’s just… _why_?”

I blew out a frustrated breath, scrunching up my face in metaphorical pain.

Hanji waited patiently for me to let it out.

“Why do people have to keep bringing it up?  Why do they have to keep throwing it in my face?  Is that going to make the choice suddenly clear?  No!  If anything, it makes me question myself even more.  And I don’t know how everyone doesn’t realize that they’re just being fucking… _assholes_ when they keep harassing me about it?  Because that’s what they’re really doing; they’re harassing the ever loving shit out of me, and I’m just going to fucking… _explode_!”

Hanji cackled hysterically.

“Wow, tell me how you really feel!”

“Maybe college just isn’t for me, Hanji,” I frowned. 

This thought had been going through my mind a lot lately and this was my indirect way of asking for her opinion. 

“No Eren, no,” she soothed.  “College is perfect for you, honey.  The only problem I see here is that everyone wants to rush you to make a choice.  But why should you?  What if you choose something because they make you and then you end up with a job for twenty years that you absolutely cannot stand?  Not to mention the fact that a lot of kids don’t even end up with jobs related to their field of study.  I think you should take your time, keep taking different classes and when something catches your interest then you will know.  Who cares if it takes you more than four years to graduate?”

“Um, my _father_ ,” I rolled my eyes.  “I’m pretty sure he’ll cut me off.”

“Agh!” she groaned.  “I guess it would suck if you had to work on top of being stressed out all the time. 

“Yeah, I can barely manage decent grades as it is.”

She gazed at me strangely for a few minutes while I scarfed down my sandwich and fries.  I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just continued to stare in silence.

“I know what to do!” she burst out suddenly. 

“Oh?” I smirked.

“Eren, you need to work with me on your breaks.”

What?  This was her solution?  Offering me a job?

“I know, you’re wondering what that has to do with anything, right?”  I nodded emphatically.  “But think about it!  You will get work experience; you will meet a lot of different people here and let me tell you they get chatty.  You will learn about people’s jobs whether you want to or not.  I think it will help you.  And if your father does disown you, well then you will have money saved for college.”

I toss the idea around in my head.  There really isn’t a down side to it.  It’s not like I do anything during my breaks anyway.  I pretty much get held hostage at home by my father and Mikasa.  Armin is too busy with special programs he’s involved in.  The rest of the gang pretty much goes their separate ways.  I do enjoy spending time with Hanji.  And if this will give me more time to choose a career, then I think I have no choice.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right away.  You can think about it and get back to-”

“I’ll do it!” I blurted out jumping out of my seat.  I was afraid she’d take back the offer.

Hanji jumped out of her seat as well, jumping up and down in excitement.

“Oh my god, Eren!” she squealed.  “Oh my god!  It will be so much fun!”

I smile at her excitement.  I guess I’m excited too, but mostly I’m nervous as hell.  This feels like it’s my last hope. 

I sure hope I don’t mess it up.

 

\---

 

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!

I swing my arm and turn off my alarm clock.  I stretch out a little because today I’m going to-

“Eren!’

What the fuck?

“Eren, come on!  You can’t skip again.  You’ll fail for sure!”

“Armin!” I yell out, swinging my arm out trying to grab his wrist because the idiot is pushing my shoulder into the mattress again.  “Armin!  Stop!”

“No, Eren,” he scolds.  “I can’t!  Mikasa will have my head if I don’t make sure- ow!”

I’ve managed to lock onto his bony wrist and twist myself into a sitting position.  So I may be twisting his arm painfully at the moment. 

 “Armin, I was getting up already,” I explain.  But he doesn’t believe me!  The mistrust evident in his eyes, although reasonable, pisses me off.  I no longer regret seeing the tears forming there.  “And it’s Friday.  I don’t have a class today.”

That catches his attention.  His face scrunches up in confusion.

“It’s Friday?” he squeaks.  The jerk must be half asleep, working on auto pilot.  I sigh loudly, giving him a withering look.  “Then why is your alarm even _on_?”

Oh yeah, I didn’t tell him.

“I kind of got a part time job.  I have orientation today.”

His eyes go wide like saucers. 

“Eren, you can’t do that!  Does your father know?  Shit!  Does _Mikasa_ know?!”

“No,” I roll my eyes.  “And there is no reason for them to find out.  I wasn’t planning on being home for the break anyway, so they’ll just think I’ll be here.  Studying.”

He studies my face intensely for a moment.  I let go of his wrist slowly, not missing the red irritated skin that my fingers are leaving behind.  I groan internally.  I’ll have to make that up to him. 

“But why, Eren?  You don’t need a job.  And it will just get in the way of your studies.”

Of course he would say that.

I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. 

“Armin, try to put yourself in my shoes.  I think I just need a break from… this,” I motion to the entire room around me.  “From school, from everyone-”

He sucks in a sharp breath.

“You’re quitting school?!” he jumps to conclusions.

“NO!” I yell impatiently.

“Then why?  It doesn’t make sense!” he’s pouting now. 

“I just need some time to clear my head, to think about something that _isn’t_ school and my life in general.  You know?” he shook his head.  “I know!” I groan.  “I’m doing a shit job explaining.  But it’s only part-time and it’s only temporary while I’m on break.  I’m not leaving school, I promise.”

“You promise you’re not quitting school?” he asks quietly.

“No,” I say in what I hope is a reassuring and convincing tone.

“I guess it’s ok then,” he mopes.

“Armin, you’re not even going to be here,” I remind him.

His gaze falls to his shoes. 

“I know!  I’m a shit friend for abandoning you.  I’m so sorry, Eren-”

“Oh my god!” I exclaim.  “Armin, just shut up.  You are the greatest best friend anyone could want.  You have to do what’s best for you, ok?  You shouldn’t have to be picking up after me my whole life.  I need to be on my own.  And so do you, ok?”

He nods his head, forcing a smile.  I guess he’s really going to miss me.  And I can’t for the life of me understand why, I’m such an ass most of the time.  I throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly.  He gasps in surprise, but doesn’t fight it.

“Armin,” I start saying.

“What?”

“Don’t you need to pack?”

“Oh shit!”

He jumps out of my embrace and starts running around the room in a panic.  Normally he would have already done this yesterday, but he’d been out late last night researching a paper.

I laugh when I see him flinging his clothes haphazardly into his suitcase. 

I miss him already.

 

\---

 

Orientation with Hanji, was… painful.  It mostly involved me getting an apron, a name tag and a menu to memorize.  Then she had me watch her as she worked the register for a couple of hours.  She had me come in at a slow time of day, so we didn’t get a lot of customers.  She mostly talked my ear off while Mike prepared the food in the back.  The few customers who did come in were regulars.  She knew exactly what their names were and she knew all about them.  She made it a point to ask them questions about their jobs and asked how they liked them. 

One was an accountant and just listening to them talk about boring number crunching made me sleepy.  No thanks.  Another was a hyper-active stressball of an administrative assistant.  Pass.  I already give myself enough stress.  I don’t need someone else’s added on.  A third person was a glassy eyed over friendly sales rep.  Yeah, no.  I couldn’t pretend to be so upbeat all the time to save my life.  I listened to all of them politely, but nothing really caught my attention.   Despite this, it was nice and helpful to get first hand feedback from them. 

For my last hour there, Hanji handed me a clipboard and asked me to take inventory of the supply room.  It seemed easy enough, so I dove right into it, wanting to be quick and thorough to impress her. 

Or at least that was my plan.

Moments later, I was counting sleeves of coffee lids diligently, but I kept getting distracted by something moving in my peripheral vision.  At first I thought it was my imagination, so tried to concentrate harder.  I jumped and shrieked like a little bitch when I felt something cold brush up against my ankles.  Good god, there had better not be rats in here!  As much as I like Hanji, I don’t think I can handle that.

I finally finished counting the sleeves and notated the number on the list.  Relieved, I turned to the last item; small to-go boxes.  When I turned to locate them, I froze.  In the corner of the supply room, beside the pizza boxes, there was a floating disturbance in the air. 

A ghost. 

Did I run?  No. 

Did I scream?  No. 

I was kind of disappointed actually- in myself, that is.  I hadn’t even sensed it!  How was there a ghost floating… or hovering- whatever it is they do- not two feet away from me and I didn’t even notice until now?  Was I losing my “ability”?  Oh please god, I hope so.  I mean, who really wants that kind of thing?  Not this guy!

I huffed, trying to maneuver around it to get to the to-go boxes which were directly behind the pizza boxes.  The thing seemed to know what I wanted and moved right in front of them, effectively blocking my way.  Are you kidding me?  I sighed impatiently, trying to stare past the disturbance to get an accurate count.  It seemed to notice, as weird as that may sound, moving up to hover right in front of me as if it was challenging me to try counting now.  I side stepped the thing and planted myself right in front of the boxes so there was no room for it to get in the way.

In hind sight, I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.  Who does this kind of shit?  Apparently only me.  Everyone with a rational mind- gets the fuck out of there!

Overcome with a sense of triumph, I counted the boxes as quick as I could and wrote it down.  I turned to the disturbance which was still hovering nearby and gloated.

“In your face!” I yelled with glee.

The disturbance puffed up in what I presumed was anger. 

“Aw.  You mad?  Yeah, you should be.  I won sucker!”

I turned to walk out of the supply room in a victory strut, when it appeared hovering right in front of me.

Oh crap, what did I do? 

I barely had a second to gasp loudly before it shot right into me.

The surprise of it made me fall back on my ass.  I felt an overwhelming chill come over my body, my teeth began chattering noisily and I started trembling uncontrollably in spasms.

“Oh my god, this feels so weird!” I heard a deep voice grumble right beside me. 

But… there wasn’t anyone there.

“What?  Who the fuck said that?”

“Oi!  You can hear me, brat?”

I scanned the room but no one was around.  As far as I knew only Mike and Hanji worked at this café.  Moblit came in occasionally for night shifts, but I’d never seen anybody else.

“M-maybe,” I answered nervously.  “Where are you?”

“Heh!” he laughed.  “Well, son of a bitch!  It’s a good thing you’re sitting down for this.”

“What do you mean?” I asked feeling faint.

“I knew you saw me!  I wasn’t sure at first, but then you had to be a little shit, didn’t you?”

Oh my god, I was going to be sick.

“Oh man, please… _please_ do not tell me you’re the ghost.”

I could cry and still be manly, right?

“Tch!  I’m not a ghost asshole!” he hissed.  “Well… at least not yet.”

“What does that even mean!” I scoffed.

“I mean, I’m still alive.  Or… I am as far as I can tell.”

“Huh?” my genius is showing through now.

“I mean, my spirit is out of my body right now.  I was just travelling, which I do sometimes.  But now I can’t get back to my body.”

I took some time to think about what he was suggesting. 

“You mean, like astral projection?”

“Exactly!  Oh, thank god you have a few brain cells.  Someone moved my body.  You were the only one able to see me, so I risked entering your body.  I guess that’s why you can hear me?”

“You’re inside me right now?” 

Not the sexiest date I’ve ever had, to be honest.

“Obviously!  I take it this doesn’t happen to you often?”

“Fuck no!  This shit is creepy!  Can you get out now?”

He was silent for a moment.

“Does that mean you won’t help me?”

Help?  Help him do what?

“Do you- do you need me to take you to your body?  Is that what you need?”

More silence.

“I need you to help me _find_ my body.   I don’t know where the fuck it is.  And if I don’t find it soon…”

He didn’t finish his sentence.  I couldn’t blame him.  I remembered reading about this somewhere. 

If he was out of his body for _too_ long… he’d die.

I gulped loudly.

“I’ll help you.”

 

\---


	2. Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's first day of work is just full of surprises. Afterwards, he begins the search for Levi's body. Then he runs into someone he was hoping to avoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we find out a little about Levi and some of the circumstances behind his body's abduction. 
> 
> This is one of those stories where I know what happens and how it will end, but getting there is still a mystery even to me.  
> Also, since Erwin is such a douche in my other fic, he gets to be a good guy in this one.  
> ^.^

* * *

 

 

“So…”

I was scared.

“Levi.” 

His name was Levi.  I was on a first name basis with a disembodied voice that may or not be a stress induced hallucination.  Well, I guess he wasn’t technically currently disembodied since he’d taken up residence in my body.

“Where exactly do I begin?”

I was pretty clueless about some things.

“Do I call the cops?  File a missing person report?  Can I- can I even _do_ that- I mean, since I’m not your family…?”

Make that a shit ton of things.

Yes this is me again.  Am I proud of sounding this pathetic?  Of course not!  But what’s a guy to do when he’s grown up sheltered with an overprotective father, a control freak sister with a black belt and no backbone to speak of?  And now suddenly I’m supposed to be responsible enough to help another human being, without any clue as to how I would even start, and- bonus- if I fail they _die_? 

No pressure.

…

(help meeee)

…

“Well,” he seemed to be thinking it over as well.  “I’m not exactly a detective either.  Otherwise I would have found… _me_ already.”

We’d decided it was creepy referring to his absent fleshier self as a ‘body’ due to potential outcomes that we’d rather not think about.  We felt like it was tempting fate, kind of, so we just decided to refer to his body as ‘him’.  It was confusing. 

I don’t know.  I just laughed nervously.

“But definitely, no cops.”

Well fuck.  We’re going to do this on our own?  Wasn’t there an adult somewhere who could help us somehow? 

“Better yet, I’d prefer that no one else found out.  Just to be safe.”

Shit.  Ok, so absolutely no outside help whatsoever. 

“So… are you like… a criminal?” I tried my best not to make it sound like that was a bad thing.  “Is that why you don’t want to involve anyone else?”

“Nah,” he said dismissively.  “Not anymore.  I’m good now.  But it would be in my best interest that the police not get involved due to my… ah… _second_ job.”

Oh, illegal activities.  Excellent.  Nothing could go wrong.  We’re going to be fine. 

Just fine.

“Are you ok?” he asked suddenly.

“W-what, me?  I’m good.  I’m fine,” I was fully aware that I sounded like a total douche, pretending I had all this confidence when the opposite was painfully obvious.  “Why do you ask?”

He snorted.

“Because you sound like you’re hyperventilating.”

“Oh…  sorry,” I cleared my throat willing the nervousness away.  “What exactly are you hiding from the cops?” I squeaked out, then added hurriedly in a more serious manly voice, “if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well,” he paused.  “I’m a little bit of a drug dealer, so… that’s kind of bad.”

Drug dealer?  Kind of bad? 

Yeah, I’d say so. 

A little bit.

“Um.  A _little bit_ of a drug dealer?  Does that mean… like a hippie suburban soccer mom drug dealer?  And not, you know, a big dangerous gangster thug type drug dealer… ”

“What?  What the fuck are you even saying right now?”

Oh god.  I just wanted to know if he had ties to a big cartel.  You know, the type who could make your whole family disappear?  It was a legitimate worry, wasn’t it?  But what was the protocol for asking politely?  Hell, I give up.

“I don’t even know, ok?  The only thing I know about drug dealers is from television.  I’m sorry!”

Levi sighed heavily.

“Great.  Of all the people in the world to be stuck with- no, you know what, maybe this is a sign.  Maybe this isn’t a good idea.  You seem to be in way over your head, so I’ll just…”

Thank you for the overwhelming vote of confidence.

“You’ll what?  Wait until you find another guy you can possess?”  I bit out angrily.  “Levi, I _want_ to help you.  Just… just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.  Plus I don’t think we have a choice.  There’s no time to run around looking for someone else, is there?”

“No, there isn’t,” Levi huffed.  “Fine.  I think we should start by going back to my apartment to see if there’s anything left that will help.  Maybe ask some of the neighbors if they saw-”

“Anything _left_?  What do you mean anything left?”

“Exactly what it sounds like, brat,” he muttered.  “You’ll see.” 

\---

 

I still had a little bit of time left before my orientation was officially over.  Of course I didn’t impress Hanji like I’d hoped, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Sorry, that took longer than it should have,” I apologized as I handed her the completed inventory list.

“It’s your first day, Eren,” Hanji rolled her eyes.  “It’s not like there’s going to be a surprise quiz, for god’s sakes.”

She skimmed the list really quick. 

“Ooh!  Eren,” she squealed.  “Why do you have such pretty writing?  Don’t you know boys’ penmanship is supposed to be shit, what’s wrong with you?”

“A lot actually,” I deadpanned.  “When my father first noticed he ripped the paper out of my hands and screamed to the heavens: ‘No!  What are you doing?!  Now you can never be a doctor!’”

She snickered. 

“I cried.”

“Aw.  Sad that you disappointed your father?”

“No.  I was seven and he gave me a massive paper cut.”

We giggled like grade schoolers.

“Christ,” Levi sighed dramatically.

I frowned.  Maybe I’d forgotten he was also present. 

“What’s wrong?” Hanji asked, not missing a beat.

“Nothing,” I said smiling sheepishly.  “I guess thinking of my father just reminded me how some people can be such negative dicks.”

“Boo!  Fuck negative dicks!” she hollered before she caught herself. 

Her hands flew to her face covering her offensive mouth as quickly as she could, her eyes wide with disbelief that she’d yelled such a thing out loud in the middle of her own café.  She started to snort underneath her hands when she realized a customer had come in at that precise moment.  I on the other hand, was dying of embarrassment.

Fuck my life.  It was my Physics teacher.

My face was burning.  It was hard to resist the urge to hide under the counter.  You’re an adult Eren.  This is your job.

To my surprise, he gave a genuine good-natured laugh. 

“Would that be the special of the day?” he asked, his eyes crinkling with merriment.

“Ah ha ha!” Hanji laughed with him.  “Afraid not, that would be the chicken Caesar salad.  But I’m sure it’s just as good.”

“Ooh, maybe next time.  I think today I’ll just have my usual.”

His usual?  So… he was a regular?

“What.  A.   _Fucking_.  Douche.”

Um, excuse you.  No one asked your opinion, angry drug dealer.

“Coming right up!”

He handed Hanji some cash and then turned to me, smiling like we were sharing a secret.

“Hey there Jaeger, I didn’t know you worked here.”

(internal screaming)

He knows my name?  Oh shit!  He knows who I am! 

I had a temporary burst of euphoria before the evil truth came crashing down around me. 

Oh shit, then he knows I’m failing his class!  Fuck.

“Hi Professor Smith,” I said as professionally as I could manage.  “Today is my first day, so…” I ended with a shrug.

Yep, that was the best I could manage.  Five stars.

“Oh?  You’re lucky then.  Hanji is the best boss you could hope for.  She’ll take good care of you.”  He winked at me, then turned his attention back to Hanji as she served his drink.

What the fuck.  Did I imagine that?  Why would my hot hot, _unfairly_ hot Physics professor wink at me?

“Jesus Christ, maybe I should just die willingly,” Levi muttered.

Thank you, Debbie downer.  Can’t a guy enjoy his delusional trysts in peace?  God.

“Stop staring at him.”

What?  I wasn’t staring. 

“I’m not,” I whispered.

“ _Stop_ staring at him,” he grumbled even more annoyed sounding than the first time.

I wasn’t, was I?  Nah…

“Shut up!  I’m _not_ ,” it was really hard to yell at Levi and keep it down to a whisper at the same time.  Erwin was giving me strange looks.  I smiled like a moron to let him know nothing was going on.  Absolutely nothing.

“Oh?  Then tell me, smart ass, is the customer behind him a man or a woman?”

What?  

I peeked around Erwin to check, but there was no one there.  Erwin turned following my gaze to look as well.  He then turned back to me with a puzzled expression when he didn’t see anyone.

Levi laughed hysterically.

“Sorry, I thought I saw a friend of mine outside,” I lied.

 _Fucker!_   I thought really hard, hoping Levi would be able to read my mind this once.

“Eren, it’s six,” Hanji informed me because I am inept.  “So you can go home now,” she elaborated when she saw my confused expression.  “Congratulations on your first day, by the way.  You did really well today!  Yay!”

Relief washed over me that I didn’t have to stay there being all awkward around my physics teacher anymore, when the unthinkable happened.

“Oh, you’re off?” tall, blonde and sexy really seemed to enjoy this bit of news.  “Why don’t you join me then?  I could use a bit of company.”

I shit you not, I could feel my panties melting off my booty when he said that.  Except, you know, not _panties_.  I wear boxers.  Yeah.

“Sure, we got all day,” Levi interjected with fake enthusiasm.

I was going to say no, fucker.  And it has nothing to do with the fact that I find my professor intimidating at all.  Nope.

“Sorry, I’m kind of meeting someone…” I said weakly.

This is the part when I should add, ‘but maybe some other time.’  I mean, I like him.  I would really like to share a meal with him.  Hell, I would really like to eat a meal right off his chiseled abs.  Any normal person seriously crushing on him would say it. 

Except, I _don’t_ say it.  Because I’m me and I cannot for the life of me imagine he’d want-

“Ok, maybe some other time then?”

What the actual fuck? 

I smile nervously, forgetting how to breathe.  I’m sure my contorted face makes me look like a psychopath because Hanji is somewhere beside me stifling her amusement.

“Yeah, any other time would be great.”

“Ok,” he says giving me a thousand watt smile before scooting off to find a table.

I don’t face Hanji as I run into the back to put my apron away in my locker.  I don’t want her to see what a mess I’ve become. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way brat, but…”

No!  Of course not.  How could I possibly take anything you say the wrong way, smart-ass.

“What?” I prompted.

“Are you a virgin?”

I stopped in my tracks, my mouth going slack.

“W-what?”

“You heard me.  Are you?”

I could feel my face burning.  Who the fuck asks this kind of question?  Excuse me, I don’t know you like that, _sir_.

“Why would you even ask something like that?”

He didn’t even bother trying to control his laughter.

“Because you practically creamed your pants back there just talking to that asshat.  The level of second-hand embarrassment you just subjected me to is unbelievable.”

What did he even care?  Then again, why did I care whether he knew or not?  

“That’s none of your business!” I blurted out.  I couldn’t help the way I sounded like I was offended.  Mostly because I was in fact offended.   

“So, that’s a yes.”

“Contrary to popular belief everyone does not fling their virginity carelessly to the wind the second they set foot on a college campus.  All right?  Fuck!”

Levi snickered. 

“Oh, that doesn’t happen?  I guess all the rumors I’ve been hearing all these years must not be true then, right?”

Maybe that was true for other people, maybe even for most people.  People who could socialize.  People who weren’t me.  I wasn’t pure as the fresh fallen snow.  I’d fooled around a little in high school, who hadn’t?  But I just hadn’t found anyone I liked enough to do… _those_ kinds of things with yet.  Why was that a bad thing?

“Shut up.”

“Not to mention those movies based on college life.  Or all those books written about it.  Or actual college kids I know, who seem to have no qualms telling me very detailed accounts about-”

“Ok!  I get it!” my face was burning.  “Can we just drop it?”

Levi was quiet for the rest of time it took me to put my things away, grab my sweater and say my goodbyes to Hanji and Mike. 

“I’m sorry, ok.” he said a little grudgingly once we were outside.  It was obvious he wasn’t used to having to apologize to anyone.  So basically, if it wasn’t for the fact that he needed my help, he wouldn’t be sorry.  Not at all. 

“Whatever,” was the only thing I trusted myself enough to reply.  I took a deep breath determined not to let his asshole personality get to me.  I was the only one who could help him and even though I couldn’t stand him, I couldn’t just walk away. 

“So, where do you live again?”

 

\---

 

It turned out Levi didn’t live very far from the café at all.  Maybe that’s the only reason he’d even ended up there, and the only reason he was able to run into me.  It was a pleasant enough looking community, there were a lot of trees, nice landscaping and small ponds here and there.  Following his instructions, I found his apartment number, found the spare key in the planter next to the door and let myself in.

“Holy shit….”

“I told you,” he said almost apologetically.

The apartment was ransacked.  What little furniture there was had either been flipped over or broken beyond repair.  There were papers and broken dishes everywhere.  It was a small place, a one bedroom from the looks of it, so it couldn’t have taken whoever had done this very long to go through the whole apartment.

“A burglary?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, most likely,” Levi agreed calmly.  “The TV is gone, my game station is gone.  It looks like they went through all the drawers in case I had cash stashed around.  I bet they took all the electronics from the bedroom as well.  So, the question is, was this done by strangers or by someone who knew me?”

“How will we be able to tell?” I asked.

“If it was someone who knew me, then they would know what else to steal.”

I walked into his bedroom; it was in an equal state of chaos.  His clothes were tossed everywhere.  You couldn’t walk anywhere in his apartment without stepping on something of his.  Even the linens from his full bed had been stripped off.  I frowned when I realized his sheets weren’t anywhere in the room. 

“They probably used them to move my body,” Levi said eerily guessing my thoughts.  I shuddered. 

“You mean, to move ‘you,’” I reminded him.

“Right,” he said exhaling loudly.

He instructed me to move the rug from its current location beside the bed.  There was a square piece of carpet that had been carefully cut and then repositioned so unless you knew what to look for, you would never know it was there.  I removed it carefully and lifted the loose floorboard underneath. 

“Fucking hell!”

It was empty.  He’d been screwed over by someone he knew, someone he’d trusted. 

"What was in there?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Whatever you're imagining is most likely correct," he huffed.  "Cash, product, firearms.  The usual.  Fuck!"  He cursed loudly, enunciating each word at first then trailing off into a string of curses.  

I didn’t know what to say, so I remained silent.

“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised,” he growled once he was more calm.  “Do you have a cell phone?  Who the fuck am I kidding?  What kid doesn’t have one nowadays?  Dial this number.”

I pulled out my cell and dialed the number as he dictated it.  Seconds later I heard a buzzing sound from one of the heaps of his clothing.  I dug around in it and found what I presumed was his iPhone.  I spent more time (following his instructions) searching for his wallet and other personal items he did not want to leave behind.  We also dug out a recent picture of him we could use when we went out searching. 

I slipped his belongings into the kangaroo pocket of my hoodie.  There wasn’t really much, so it fit fine.  When we were done, I locked up and returned the key to its place in the planter.  By this time it was already starting to get dark, some of the street lamps had already flickered on.  I furrowed by brows when I saw them light up.  The day was already almost done.  Time was ticking.  

Next, I went around knocking at his neighbors doors.  I asked everyone who answered if they’d seen anything unusual last night.  I showed them a picture of Levi to see if they might know where he was.  After hours of asking around, knocking on every single door in the complex and even surrounding houses, we had no luck.  No one had seen anything, no one knew where he might be.  The majority of them claimed to not even know Levi.  Never seen him before, they said.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that some of them were lying. 

“You’re probably right,” Levi agreed with me when I voiced my opinion.  “But no one wants to get involved.  They’re not going to help us.”

“What should we do then?” I asked worriedly.

“We’ll go through my phone contacts tomorrow.  We’ll also meet up with some of my… _business_ contacts.  That’s if you’re still up to it.  They’re not exactly stand up citizens.”

“I said I would do it, so I will.”

He was silent for a moment.

“Well, then get some rest.  We have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir,” I said.  I wasn’t being a smart ass, that’s just how I was used to responding when someone talked to me with adult authority.  Like my father, or a teacher.  Levi looked like he was at least thirty in his picture.

“ _Sir_?” he said distastefully.  “What the fuck…” he muttered more to himself than to me.

I smiled. 

 

\---

 

I couldn’t help feeling like a failure, like I’d let Levi down today.  I know it was a little irrational, it would have been a miracle to find him so quick considering his lifestyle and the fact that I was a complete stranger, but I still felt like shit. 

In the best circumstances I figured we had three days, four tops before severe dehydration finished him off.  In the worst circumstances, well we were already too late.  But it couldn’t have come to that yet.  Levi would cross over at that point.  So in my mind, that left tomorrow and Sunday.  I had to find him within these next two days or he was screwed.

I crossed the street and walked towards the dorms.  It was dark and quiet.  Everyone was off enjoying their weekend, or in their room studying.  I picked up my pace to a slow sprint, hustling towards the dorms.  I wanted to formulate some kind of game plan so we would not waste any time tomorrow.

Once I got to the cafeteria, I was horribly out of breath.  Man, I really needed to work out.  I leaned against the wall, struggling to catch my breath for a minute.  At least the night air was cool.  That really helped.

“Well, well.  You finally decide to show up little brother?  I’ve been waiting for you.”

Oh shit, scratch that.  Nothing could help.  _Nothing_.

The second I heard that voice I knew this day was going to end badly.  I couldn’t even make a run for it, she was faster.  I turned to see Mikasa leaning against the wall beside me giving me the stink eye.  Her lip quirked up when she saw my nerves unravel.  Her dark eyes bored into mine, and I did not miss the evil glint hidden there.  I swallowed loudly.

“What the fuck is this shit I’ve been hearing that you have a job now Eren?” she came at me thrusting one hand into the air in frustration the other cocked on her hip.  “A job.  A _fucking_ job?  Really?!”

Oh fuuuuck.  I was royally screwed!  Dammit!  Had Armin told her after all? 

I tensed up, prepared to block the inevitable blows I knew were coming.  There was no one around, no one to call the campus police, no witnesses against her in case I wanted to file a complaint afterwards. 

Except… Levi was there. 

Good god almighty, Levi was going to see me get my ass handed to me like a little girl!  Worse yet, there was not a goddamn thing I could do about it.

“Mikasa, I can explain-”

“Who the fuck do you think you are, you little _bitch_?  Do you know how sick I am of having to keep you in line my whole fucking life?” her voice kept changing octaves, the higher the pitch the more incredulous she seemed to be about having to put with my shit.  “A job.  That’s just fucking cute.  Your grades are shit Eren!  They’re shit!”

Where was that argument I had with Armin this morning?  The one that ended with him understanding and with me _not_ getting fucked up.  She grabbed me by the shoulder, fisted her hand into my hoodie and shoved me into the building wall behind me.  I could hear my sweater tear and I was one hundred percent sure she’d just broken a nail poking her finger into my chest as hard as she was.

“Ow!” I yelped.  Damn that was painful.

“I’m not your _fucking_ babysitter!  I have a life too Eren!  I.  Have.  A life.  _Too_!” she screamed in my face. 

 I turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at her directly, she was fucking scary.  She wove her fingers in my hair then pulled back tight lifting my face forcing me to look her.

“I know that Mikasa!  I know!” I yelled back, swatting her hand away, trying to defend myself at least a little.  “I keep saying that to Dad over and over, but he doesn’t listen to me!  He _never_ listens to me, only to you!  If it bothers you so much why don’t you ever say anything?  You’re his favorite, you’re the perfect one!  You don’t have to do this you know!  Why can’t you just say no to him?”

She grabbed my hoodie with both fists now, pushing me up against the wall so hard I could feel my skin scrape against the stucco.  Well, it’s not like this was my favorite hoodie or anything. 

Plus, skin is overrated.

“Because, you fucking idiot!  Then I’d get a lecture about how it’s my duty to protect my dear little brother and not to mention the fucking guilt trip about how you guys took me into your home when there was no one else.  Do you think I like being made to feel like an ungrateful little bitch Eren?  You think I like that?  I fucking don’t!”

She pulled me forward then pushed me back against the wall again with all her might.  I’m pretty sure I hit my head, because everything got blurry after that.

“I’ll talk to him about it, all right?  I’ll tell him everything, I’ll talk to him.  Just fucking calm down!”

She glared at me with contempt before shoving me onto the ground.

“You’d better,” she scoffed.  “If I hear otherwise, I will come back for you, dear little brother.  You bet your sweet ass you will see me again.  Real soon.”

She kicked me in the ribs for good measure.  I curled up in an effort to block any future kicks.  I swear I heard her laughing softly as though it was greatly satisfying to her to see me squirming in pain on the floor.  It probably was too.  Ugh, I hate life!

“Mikasa?  Oh my god, Eren!” suddenly Annie was right beside her staring down at me.  She was expressionless as ever, so I couldn’t tell if she felt sorry for me or not.

I could feel blood trickling down my scalp towards the pavement. 

“What happened?” Annie asked.

“I don’t know, I just got here,” Mikasa suddenly sounded like she was going to cry.  “Oh my god Eren, what happened to you?”

Flabbergasted, I made a few wheezing noises but couldn’t get my mouth or lungs to cooperate enough to form actual words.  What did it fucking matter anyway?  My bipolar sister would happily shut my mouth for me if I dared say anything.

I struggled to get up, knees wobbling and leaning against the wall for support.  Then without looking back at them, I limped over to the dorms, went straight to my room and collapsed on my bed.

I’d heard Annie wonder out loud as I trudged off, “What’s wrong with him?” and Mikasa answered full of concern, “I think he’s gotten in with a bad crowd.  He won’t tell me anything.”

I laughed uncontrollably, my whole body shaking.  Of course these things would happen to me.  Only to me.  I’m such a fuck up!

I lay there staring at the ceiling, laughing sporadically until I finally passed out.

 

I woke up a few hours later, completely disoriented.  The lights were still on.  I shot off the bed in a panic, emptying my pockets of Levi’s belongings and grabbing my laptop and a notebook.  I had to get organized, I was wasting time- god fucking damn everything to hell!

“Don’t,” Levi commanded in a gruff voice that would have echoed in my empty room if he’d been physically there to say it.

“But,” I was dizzy and disoriented.  “I _have_ to.  I promised I’d help you and I will.”

“And you will.  But not like this.  We’ll continue tomorrow once you’re rested.”

I slumped on my bed, staring at the notebook on my lap.  I couldn’t even read anything, it was too blurry.  I couldn’t even hold a pen properly, my hand was still shaking with unspent adrenaline.

I shoved everything off my bed in a fit of misdirected anger.  Then I kicked off my shoes and lay down, closing my eyes tight, thinking of other things- anything to distract myself, to tire my brain out until I fell asleep again.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for nothing. 
> 
> *shrugs*


	3. Day 2: Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren have some bonding time and then they continue their search.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this happened.
> 
> *shrugs*

* * *

 

I was falling. 

Falling into blackness; falling in slow motion as far as I could tell.  It was like floating in water at first; my body light, almost weightless, my limbs stretched out before me.  I couldn’t make out anything around me because everything was cloaked in darkness.  I had no control of my body, so I couldn’t even try to stop my descent.  I tried to focus on what I was wearing.  I couldn’t tell.  My brain filled me in that I was just wearing generic jeans and a t-shirt and to get over myself because it wasn’t like I was on the cover of fucking Vogue or anything.

“…”

Brain, why are you such a bitch? 

I must be dreaming, my subconscious concluded lazily.  Yeah, everything I did was done lazily, even in my sleep.  I was nothing if not consistent.

Suddenly it was like the cord that had been easing me down snapped and I was falling faster and faster.  My heart rate accelerated with the unpleasant sensation.  My body tensed ready for the catastrophic impact that would end me.  What is it with that reaction anyway?  I always wondered this.  How is tensing up going to help me at all?  Body, you may be a miracle of nature, but sometimes I just have to shake my head at you.

Being the idiot I was, I wondered if I was now falling in a vacuum.  And if so, was my speed accelerating at the rate of gravity?  What would my final speed be when I hit bottom?  I didn’t know the goddamn answer though.  Somewhere, somehow I could hear Professor Smith cringe, knock all the books and papers off his huge desk in a fit of mad despair and then yell out like a wounded animal to the heavens:

Whhhhhyyyyy?! 

Yes, sometimes I was just nerdy that way. 

That was only for one second though, then I gasped and woke up instantaneously just before I hit what I presumed would be the bottom.

 

My eyes flashed open.  I jolted to a sitting position, clutching my rapidly beating heart, trying to even out my breathing.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Oh, that’s right.  I’m not alone.

“What did you do?” I asked, confused.  My voice was hoarse, still thick with sleep.

“You just dreamt that you were falling, correct?”

My eyes widened though there was no one there to see them.

“Yeah,” I said.  “How’d you know?”

“That happens to me… _happened_ … when I would return to my body-”

“Your _self_ ,” I corrected sternly.

Levi sighed heavily.

“Yes, fine.  Myself.  That’s the feeling I would get.  It’s normal.”

“Ah,” I said for lack of better words.  “Neat.”

“Christ,” Levi grumbled to himself along with something along the lines of never being able to get used to a brat like me.

“Good morning, by the way,” I said indignantly.

“Yeah, whatever,” he said grumpily.

I chuckled at his grouchiness.  Then I thought it’d be a good idea to stretch a little, but ended up twitching in pain mostly when my muscles protested.

“So that was you entering my body again?” I asked trying to ignore the pain.  “Where did you go?”

“Oh,” he drawled it out like he was considering whether he would actually explain himself or not.  Eventually he did.  I win.  “I just figured I’d give you some privacy while you slept.  I hovered about in a corner of your room.  You know, like any other spirit haunting your ass would.”

I laughed hard at that, though my sides ached with the action. 

“Ooh!  So considerate.  Wouldn’t want you invading my wet dreams or anything.”

He inhaled sharply.  Obviously I offended him. 

“Stupid brat!  Have you never heard of tact?” I somehow pictured that if he’d been there physically, he would have jabbed me in the ribs playfully.  “Shut the fuck up already!”

I didn’t completely buy his tough guy act.  Levi seemed like a hardcore thug type on the outside… and well, he was irl… but I was beginning to suspect he had a soft spot for me.

“You were there the whole night?” I asked between gasps of breath.  I was still laughing, though trying to be an adult and making effort to contain myself. 

“Yeah, though it wasn’t my first choice.  I really wish I could go out and search for myself.  I tried, actually.  But the only place I could go back to was my apartment!” he huffed.  “A fuck lot of good _that_ does me.”

“Really?” I said wondering why he couldn’t do more than that.  “That sucks,”

“Well, there and back here to you,” he continued.  “I guess I’m somehow able to track you because of your ability to see me.  That’s how I found you at the café.”

“Ah.”

I moved to get out bed and fuuuck did I regret it!  My body crumpled into itself the minute I slid off the bed, leaving me a pathetic lump of uncoordinated flesh on the floor.  I almost yelped in pain, but it would be too embarrassing for Levi to hear what a complete wuss I was.  I managed to get away with a nearly silent ‘oof!’ instead- but just barely.  On top of everything he’d witnessed last night-

Oh, fuck!  Last night!

Everything finally rushed back to me, making me cringe inwardly.  I turned to see my laptop, pen, cell phone and Levi’s stuff scattered all over the floor.  Shit.  I’d thrown a hissy fit!  Like a fucking child!  Levi must have a shit opinion of me, even shittier than before.  Was that even possible?  I was pretty sure he already thought I was a useless sack of stupid shit.  Fuck!  I felt my face burn with utter shame and despite my body protesting with agonizing pain, I got on my hands and knees and started picking everything up carefully.  I thanked the lord almighty that Levi remained silent throughout the whole ordeal. 

I placed everything carefully on my bed and when I was done I got myself off the floor.  I must have been quite a sight, lifting myself slowly, grinding my teeth to stifle any whining or groaning I might do when my muscles protested painfully.  And that they did.  Ah, son of a bitch, that fucking hurt!

When I was finally up I was just about to sit myself down and get to business when Levi interrupted. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

I shrugged.  One would think it was pretty obvious, but… maybe he thought I was too dumb to follow a logical course of action.

“Going to start working on a game plan?” I said condescendingly.  Duh.

He sighed heavily.  I narrowed my eyes.  He seems to do that a lot I’ve noticed.  I silently hoped it wasn’t just around me.  But I had a sneaking suspicion that yeah, it probably was.

“How about you go shower first, Cinderella,” he snapped.

“Cinderella?” I scoffed, not really understanding the reference, but feeling offended nonetheless.

“Yeah, your fairy fucking godmother isn’t here to clean your ass up magically.  Get in the damn shower.  Now!”

Oh…  Right.

“Fine,” I said and started undressing.

“Hold your horses,” he said suddenly.

“What?” I asked a little impatiently.  He needed to make up his stupid mind.  Damn he was bossy!

“I don’t intend to shower with you, you freakin’ exhibitionist.  Gather all your stuff and then I will leave you to shower.  _Alone_!  As god intended.”  He paused and then added, “on second thought… you should probably take a hot bath.  Thirty minutes oughta do it.  Do you have any bath salts?”

Bath salts?  Well…

“I do… actually,” I said hesitantly.

“You do?” Levi didn’t even try to hide his surprise.

“I know this is going to sound really, um… messed up?” I started, pausing momentarily to reconsider telling him.  Was it a good idea?  Probably not.  “Mikasa gave them to me,” I paused again, bracing myself for… I don’t even know what.  Ridicule?  A lecture?  He didn’t say anything though, so I continued.  “As a gift.  For Christmas.”

“Mikasa,” Levi said with obvious distaste.  He didn’t elaborate, but he somehow didn’t have to; the threat was implied.  I smiled. 

I moved at the stealthy pace of a tranquilized bear to grab the salts from the linen closet where I had stashed them behind the towels.  I never took baths.  I know Mikasa knew that.  I know she never intended for me to actually use and enjoy them.  She had smiled serenely the whole time I was unwrapping the gift in front of our parents.  My mom had squealed with excitement and maybe even jealousy when she saw.  My father just hummed appreciatively.  I pretended to love it, though I broke out into a cold sweat.  She had that crazed look in her eyes that apparently only I could ever see.  She was laughing at me, telling me to watch my back.

Well who’s laughing now?  Look at me, actually going to use them.  Ha.

Oh… wait.  I have to use them because she beat the shit out of me. 

 

\---

 

One nice hot bath, a quick breakfast and a couple of Advil later I was feeling better than ever.  All of this was surprisingly at Levi’s insistence.  See.  He secretly likes me.

“My fucking hands are itchy.  Stupid brat!”  He declared out of the blue, like I would know exactly what he was talking about.

“Eh?” I said, ever-intelligently.

“Your room!” he said incredulously.  I think I knew where this was headed.

“I haven’t had time to clean it!” I defended, my face feeling hot.  I don’t know why, but I really felt self-conscious now that I kind of was getting to know Levi and I kind of cared what he thought.  But only a little bit, all right?  Don’t get any bright ideas.  “Besides, you can’t really _feel_ itchy right now.”  I snorted.  “Can you?”

“Don’t fucking tell me what I can and can’t feel!  You’re not in my shoes, asshole!”

“Okay then,” I rolled my eyes.  “But consider this:  I think it’s psychosomatic.”

“Tch!  You can’t explain away every little thing you don’t understand with fancy psychobabble,” he bit out.  “Not everything can be learned from a book, _Eren_!”

Wow, Levi was feisty!  Why did that make me smile?

“Calm down.  I believe you, all right?” I conceded.  I didn’t really believe him though.  “I mean, I’m talking to your disembodied spirit, I think I can be a little more open-minded about the crap you claim to feel.  Jeez!”

 This seemed to knock the chip off his shoulder. 

“Damn straight,” he muttered.  “At least your floor is clear of clothes and shit.  And there’s no rotting food around that I can see.  I guess for a student like you, living alone for the first time, it’s a _little_ impressive.  I guess.”

“Thank you!” I beamed, not planning to let him know that this was my second year in a dorm.  “Now, what are we going to do today?”

I felt like we’d already wasted a lot of time on me.  But I had to admit, a clean, fed and rested me would be a thousand percent more times useful than an exhausted, dirty, and starving me.

“I think the first logical thing we should do it is pay a little visit to anyone who knows where I live and also knew about the secret stash.”

“Pay them a little visit,” I mused.  “You mean, rough them up to get them to spill the beans?”

Levi burst out into barely contained laughter. 

“Are you fucking shitting me right now?” he asked, gasping for air.  “You?  ‘Rough them up?’”  He quoted me with a mocking falsetto, cackling like a hyena.

Although, I admit, he had a point, I was still offended.

“What then?” I asked impatiently.

“Aw, don’t be mad,” he tried to sooth my ruffled feathers.  “You have plenty of good qualities, kid.  But let’s be honest, you don’t have a mean bone in your body.”

That… well that was actually kind of sweet.  I felt myself blush for what seemed like the millionth time since I met him.  And yeah, he was right.  I was about as violent as a feather pillow.  I even let Armin push me around in his own way.  I really needed to grow a backbone and stop being everyone’s doormat.

I groaned loudly, impatiently tapping the pen I was holding against the notepad.

“Ok, ok.  I’m sorry,” he cleared his throat to stop himself from chuckling further.  “Ok, I’m going to give you a list of their addresses and you can look them up to map out the most productive route for us to follow.  NOW!  Eren….”

“Huh?”

“Pay attention to this part.  It’s fucking important.”

“Ok,” I nodded eagerly.

He took a deep breath. 

“You are only to distract them for as long as you can.  Do you hear me?  Nothing more.  _Nothing!”_

“But-”

“No!  Shhhh…” he scolded. 

“But Levi, I-”

“Bad Eren!  Bad!”

I huffed impatiently.

“Only distract them?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“There now, was that so hard?”

“What good is _that_ going to do?” I blurted before he had the chance to cut me off again.

“You need to stay there for as long as you can so I can search their places,” he said smugly.

“Oh,” I said. 

“If I do find my b- if I do find _myself_ , then I will let you know and either I can just walk out of there, or we can work out an escape plan if needed.”

Well, I guess…

“Got it.  Ok, what are those addresses?”

A few moments later I was looking over the list, googling the addresses and mapping out our route.  I scratched my head realizing… I may know some of these people. 

If I was correct, they’d given Levi fake names.

 

\---

 

“Hey Eren!” Sasha exclaimed brightly when she answered.

I’d already explained to Levi that if these were indeed some of my friends, then it was highly unlikely they’d have anything to do with his body disappearing.  He’d agreed that I was most likely right, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility entirely.  They may be somehow involved and not even realize it.  So we had to make sure.  No matter how small those chances were.  However small a role they may have played. 

Despite her cheerful voice, she kind of looked… bad.  She had shadows under her eyes as if she’d barely slept.  Her movements were slow and she seemed to hesitate a lot, like she’d forgotten what action she was going to take and then second guessed herself.  I schooled my features, keeping my face as friendly and unaffected as I could manage.

“Good morning!” I answered equally as cheerfully, moving to give her a hug. 

And then I hesitated. 

She was kind of… sort of… gross! 

“Holy mother of god!” Levi exclaimed loudly in my head and then retched. 

He retched!

Ok, I was in college.  I didn’t want to be this judgy asshole, but man!  I could understand that it was the weekend, she probably hadn’t been up very long, hadn’t had time to shower and whatnot.  But, she was way beyond what I would consider slightly disheveled after just having woken up.  Her hair, which was gathered up in a loose bun, looked greasy, like it hadn’t been washed in days.  Plural.  _Days_!  There was a very distinct possibility there was food stuck in it was well.  Her clothes were wrinkled and stained.  Layered in stains in some places.  Some of those looked like they were fresh from breakfast possibly?  And she smelled.  Oh god did she smell.  It wasn’t anything overpowering like when you approached a dumpster, it was more like a cornucopia of lingering unpleasant odors that a good shower and fresh clothes would most definitely remedy.

I’m not an unreasonable man, I wasn’t asking for pine needles and a fresh field of fucking daisies.  Just… not whatever she had going on.  Sasha- just _no_.

I tried to keep my hands as much off her body as I could when I forced myself to hug her.  I leaned in cautiously, giving her more of an exaggerated pat on the back than an actual hug.  She didn’t seem to care though.  She was happy and promptly invited me in.

The dorm room was just as much a wreck as the person who lived there.  There were clothes scattered everywhere, books and school supplies just randomly strewn about.  I was pretty sure there was leftover fast food hidden somewhere beneath the disaster and god knows how old it was or how long it had been there.  So this is what Levi had thought my dorm room would look like.  Ha!  My mom would have grounded me for life if I’d ever let my room get this messy. 

My chest suddenly ached with the memory.  My eyes stung and I could feel my lips pulling down into a frown.  I always got this way when I remembered her, though it was not as bad as before. 

“Fuck!” Levi exclaimed, pulling me back into the present.  “I will make this as quick as possible!” I felt my body sway slightly when he left me.  I shook off the sadness, focusing on the girl in front of me. 

“Gosh Eren, what are you even doing here?” she asked innocently.  I opened my mouth to answer but then I said nothing, because I hadn’t really thought that far in advance yet.  “I mean, you never visit me.  Oh, I know!  You must be looking for Connie!  Right?”

Sure, let’s go with that.  I gave a small nod.

“Do you want something to eat?” Sasha asked, looking up at me with those huge saucer eyes of hers. 

“No, that’s ok,” I politely declined.   “I already had breakfast.  But thank you though.”

“Aw, come on!” she pleaded.  “Just have a snack then, so I won’t eat breakfast alone.  Keep me company.  Please?”

I wondered how Levi was doing.  He’d probably get mad if I lingered unnecessarily. 

Sasha suddenly gasped as if she’d gotten a brilliant idea and bounced over to pick up what looked like a donut box off her desk.  She came back towards me and opened the box in triumph.  She held it a little too close to my face for my liking, shouting “Ta da!” and then squealed in delight.

Cupcakes.   _That_ was going to be her breakfast?! 

“Come on!” she commanded.  She pulled me towards the center of the room, the only spot where the floor could be seen to be honest, and sat down.  She patted the space beside herself motioning for me to sit as well. 

Ok, Sasha and I were friends, but friends through _other_ friends.  We didn’t really know each other that well and we barely saw each other outside of group activities with all our said mutual friends.  I’d only ever seen her when she was out with Connie.  She was normal, she presentable, she was always eating.  They were cute together.  Now… I just felt awkward here being forced to share a cupcake with her.  And knowing she was a pothead kind of made things weird in its own way.

She grabbed a carrot cake cupcake and stuffed it into her mouth, her eyes glazing over as she scarfed it down.  She moaned thoroughly enjoying its apparent deliciousness, smacking her lips loudly.  It was fucking irritating.  Then she licked her fingers slowly before picking up a bottle of wine from god knows where and gulping it down like it was water.  What the hell?  Where had that even come from?  How long had it been open?  Was it still safe to consume?  After a loud burp which made her giggle, she grabbed another cupcake and repeated the whole thing.

I’m not sure… but she may have forgotten I was even there. 

Though she’d begged me to at least have a snack, she hadn’t really offered me anything.  She wasn’t looking at me.  She wasn’t talking to me.  I did my best to be quiet and still as though I was in nature trying not to frighten the fragile deer in her natural environment.   Basically, I froze because I didn’t know what the fuck to do.

Luckily, Levi shot back into my body and yelled at the top of his lungs.

“This area is fucking clear!  Let’s get the fuck out!  NOW!”

“Um,” I started, but then shut my mouth because Sasha might notice I was talking to myself.

“No, Eren!  Right fucking _now_!  I will come back to haunt your ass into an early grave if you make me stay here any longer!  Go go go!”

I shot off the floor and told Sasha I had to go.  She jumped as though she were startled to suddenly be hearing my voice.  Then she looked at me as though she was wondering when I’d gotten there. 

 

Note to self. 

 

If asked, I had _not_ been to Sasha’s room that morning.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School starts Monday. urgggghhhh


	4. Memories are not always bittersweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren gets into a fight- surprising no one- and Levi reveals some of his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, finally got around to this one.   
> Sweats nervously  
> (please don't kill me)

* * *

 

“Ok, I take back my opinion of your shitty dorm room earlier.”

“I’m still scared,” I said, not even kidding.

“Can’t say I blame you,” he agreed.  “Hopefully this next brat’s place will be a little more presentable.”

 

\---

 

Remember that crap I said about feeling so much better earlier?  Yeah, scratch that. 

The adrenaline rushing through my veins was masking the pain I should be feeling; yes I was fully aware of that.  Pain wasn’t a problem right now, pain was an obscure concept that existed somewhere in the back of my mind in a really small dark corner and probably buried under a fuck ton of anger at the moment.  There were probably spiders back there too; hairy athletic spiders- cause, you know, they like dark corners.   I wasn’t really sure how I was going to manage later that evening- especially once the pain reliever wore off- but that’s not something I could really worry about at the moment. 

_“Stay away from my girl you fucking pussy!”_ the beefy blonde growled into my face.  Good god!  I did _not_ need to have such intimate knowledge of what he’d just eaten for lunch.  Gross!

Again.  I was being slammed into a goddamned wall- _again_!  Fuck!  I groaned loud and long; the incredibly annoying sound stuffed and bloated with every ounce of frustration I could muster up.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about!” I repeated myself, slowly and firmly, trying to reason with him.  _Again._   Not that it had worked at all so far.  I _could_ throw in the fact that I wasn’t even attracted to girls, but- honestly, I wasn’t sure if that would make things better or worse.

He grabbed my chin and tried to smash my head back into the wall, but I wasn’t going to take this bullshit.  I hadn’t done anything wrong.  It occurred to me that maybe Levi had, but I had no way of knowing that at that particular instant in my life.  Plus, a boy has to defend himself, right?

Our arms were tangled together.  He was using his size to his advantage, shoving me into the wall, trying to bash my skull in.  I was trying to stop him by shoving him and his ugly face back.  I was pretty sure I accidentally stuck my fingers in his mouth at some point during the struggle because I could feel them slippery with his saliva.  God, I wanted to die just thinking about that.

“This is what I’m fucking talking about!” he screamed with all his huffy puffy might.  “You don’t even respect her enough to own up to it!  You act like you don’t even know her.  You know who she _fucking_ is!  She has a _name_ you cowardly piece of shit!  And she is too good for you, you _fucking_ asshole!”

Do you ever have those moments of clarity when everything in life suddenly makes sense?  Congratulations, why don’t you pat yourself on the back, cause I sure as fuck never have.

_This_ was it.  _This_ was my life now. 

Beat the shit out of Eren, give him false hope that things will get better, rinse, repeat.

If this is what clarity is… it doesn’t really live up to the hype, to be honest. 

We were pretty evenly matched as far as upper strength went and were getting nowhere fast.  Tired of the situation, I hooked my foot around his ankle and knocked him off balance, sending us both crashing to the ground.  He was a persistent little fucker though, even though he’d been caught off guard, he didn’t let that give me any kind of advantage.  He tried to roll over on top of me clearly wanting to pin me to the ground, but I didn’t let him escape out of the death hold we were locked in.  We continued to struggle, wrestling and grunting and pretty much just tiring ourselves out. 

By the grace of God himself or perhaps just a totally unpredictable fluke of the cosmos I actually managed to get the upper hand.  I rolled on top of the big burly guy, straddling him victoriously, holding one of his hands down in my iron grip while pinning the other with my knee leaving my fisted hand free to deck him square in the jaw with all my might.  My hand didn’t come away bloody the first time, nor the second or third.  But eventually, something had to give and I was perversely glad for the sticky feeling of his warm blood spreading through my fingers.  It replaced the disgusting slimy sensation of his saliva and that was more than ok with me, it was pretty damn acceptable actually. 

I didn’t even know what he was saying at his point, it all sounded muffled in my head.  I could see his face contort, saw his mouth forming words, I could tell he was one angry S.O.B.- but that’s as far as it went.  I was too angry to let any of it get through to me.  He struggled underneath me, pretty violently too- twisting his feet this way and that, bucking his hips trying to throw me off, but I held onto him like a leech.  I wasn’t going to let him get away so easily, not when I was finally feeling something other than self-loathing.  He was my whipping boy, taking the punishment for everything that pissed me off lately; for all the assholes in my life, for all my short-comings, my cowardice, and most of all for my unwillingness to change anything.  It wasn’t fair and I knew it, but it was hard for me to feel bad or guilty about it when he had brought it on himself.  He had chosen this outcome the minute he attacked me without knowing a damn thing about me.

“Reiner!  What are you doing?!”

The sound of the person’s yelling and the thundering steps signaling their approach distracted me just enough for the blonde- Reiner, I guess- to knock me off and onto the ground.  Lucky for my skin, my backside takes most of the impact.  Can’t really say the same for my favorite pair of dark skinny jeans- I made a mental note to mourn them in private later.  No sooner do I hit the ground when I jerk my body to the side, struggling to get on my feet as quickly as possible before-

_Ow…_ _shit!_  

Ok, too late for that. 

Reiner managed to get to me first, his hand fisting the collar of my shirt and his full body weight keeping me down.  He managed to land a punch on my cheekbone, right below my eye.  I immediately cover my face because fuck that hurt!  It would surely be a black swollen mess later.  He would have broken my nose if I hadn’t turned at the last minute, so there’s that at least.  He gets in a few more jabs before I feel blood trickle through my fingers and groan because this time it’s most assuredly my own.

Reiner gets pulled off me, struggling to keep on pummeling my face, kicking and screaming for his friend- Bertholdt apparently- to let him go.

I sit up immediately just in case Bertholdt loses his grip and I get attacked again.  It is at that very moment that I feel my body shiver.

“What the fuck!  Can’t I leave you alone for one damn minute?” Levi yelled. 

He didn’t sound quite as angry as I thought he would.  Actually, he didn’t sound angry at all.  Weird.

“He attacked me for no reason!” I shouted back.

“Fuck you!  You’re trying to steal my girl!” Reiner yelled at me.

“I already told you- _lots_ of times- I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about?!” I yelled louder.

“Oh really?  Then would you care to explain just what are you doing here then?” he yelled.

Well crap.  Damn, he had me there.  Think fast Eren, you can do this!

“Minding my own business, that’s what!” I snapped at him.

 He didn’t seem to like that very much because he started to struggle in Bertholdt’s arms again. 

“I’ll break your legs you goddamn asshole!”

“Reiner, calm down!  He’s not the one!” Bertholdt tried to cut in.  He had to repeat it several times before Reiner finally calmed down enough to listen to him.

“You mean to tell me,” he said turning to glare at Bertholdt instead.  “That you know who it is?”

Bertholdt let Reiner go and started to back away.  He was so nervous there were beads of sweat forming on his forehead. 

“I promised her I wouldn’t say anything!  But I can’t let you beat up on that kid, either.  He has nothing to do with it!”

Hey!  I’m an adult, _dammit!_

“You’re supposed to be _my_ friend.  What the fuck man…” Reiner’s anger was visibly diminishing the more Bertholdt talked to him. 

It was like he was soothing an angry giant. 

“I know how you feel about her,” Bertholdt continued.  “But she’s not your girlfriend anymore.  You have to stop this obsessing!  It’s not healthy.”

Reiner walked around in a circle, puffing out air and angrily kicking the dirt before he came back to face Eren again.

“I guess this was just a misunderstanding,” he said with a shrug.  “My bad.”

I gaped at him.  Really?!  That’s it? 

“Sorry, he’s not really good at apologies,” Bertholdt cut in.

“Well… I guess it’s fine then,” I replied a little reluctantly.  “I’m sorry I beat you up.” _I guess._

To my complete and utter surprise- he started laughing.

“Wow, you’re funny now that I don’t want to kick your teeth in!” he exclaimed.

Ha ha ha- whaaat the fuck is wrong with this guy?

He offered me a hand to help me up and I took it hesitantly.  I could only stare at him because I don’t know what the fuck to say.  ‘Thank you for not killing me, crazy guy that thinks we’re somehow friends now?’

“No hard feelings, right?” Bertholdt asked me.  He’s still skittish as a cat, so I played along.  What else would I do anyway?

“Nah, we’re good,” I muttered.

They were walking away when Reiner called behind his shoulder.  “Hey, you might want to put a steak on that shiner!  See you around kid…”

“Well, after everything I just heard I have just one question for you, kid,” Levi suddenly said.

“What would that be?” I asked nervously, expecting a lecture.

“What the fuck man!” he burst out.  “You beat the shit out of that- that _behemoth_ \- but you got your ass handed to you by your sister?  Excuse me?  What am I missing here?”

“I can’t raise a hand to Mikasa, she’s my sister!” I exclaimed.  “ _And_ she’s a girl!  What is wrong with you…”

“Oh, she’s a _girl_ ,” he said mockingly.  “She sure doesn’t act like it!  Fucking tyrant.”

I laughed despite myself. 

“Well, it’s good to know you can handle yourself when you need to,” he said thoughtfully.  “And chivalry’s not dead with you.  I may be the tiniest bit impressed.”

No wonder he didn’t sound mad before.  I could feel myself grinning like an idiot.  I had won the tiniest bit of his approval!

Aaaaahhhh…

Wait.

Why does that make me so happy?

 

 

\---

 

 

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this,” I complain for the umpteenth time.

“It’s faster this way,” he scolds.  “Plus I just assumed all you kids had a bus pass.  I mean, you don’t even have a car do you?  How the fuck do you get around?”

“I don’t really go anywhere,” I shrugged.  “I can usually just walk to the places I need to get to.”

“Wow,” he says thoughtfully.  “So, I take it the places you ‘have to’ get to are…”

“School and my Dad’s house.  Yes, my Dad picks me up.  My friends usually give me a lift anywhere else they want me to be.  You happy now?”

“Fucking princess,” I could almost feel him roll his eyes at me.  “I’m sorry I’m making you use the city’s shitty public transportation system.  I’m pretty sure we won’t run into any of your friends out here, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

“What?” I frowned.  “Is _that_ what you think?  That I’m worried about being seen?  I don’t care about that!”

“Well, then what’s with your attitude?”

“I… I don’t like people invading my personal space, ok?”  I could feel my cheeks burning again, and not just from the swelling and bruising.  “Obviously it’s not a problem with people I know.  And I don’t mind being out and about.  People in general aren’t a problem- from a distance.  Someone comes too close, you steer away and clear of them.  No problem.  On a bus though, you’re stuck.  _Especially_ if it’s crowded.  Oh my fucking god, what a nightmare!  You never know what kind of creep is going to sit next to you. Sometimes they’ll purposefully sit right fucking next to you when there are plenty of other seats available- make it a little more obvious, fucking creepy bastard! The blatant disregard for boundaries; the one hundred percent unnecessary brushing up next to you; reading over your shoulder like it’s ok for them to invade your privacy!  I can’t, Levi- I just can’t!” I suddenly realized I’d been unconsciously scratching my chest.  Great.  I was breaking out into hives just thinking about it.  “Shit, I can’t breathe…”

“Calm down,” Levi said evenly.  “There’s plenty of space right now.  Nobody’s around us.  There’s plenty of air.”

“I know,” I wheezed.  “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” he asked.  “It’s not your fault!  Those are very legitimate things to be upset about.”

“Well, it just seems so ‘first world problems’ you know?”

He sighed heavily.

“I guess people like me don’t really worry about shit like that.  I mean, I get it.  You’re young, you’re a cute guy, people are all up on you.  That shit doesn’t happen to me.  People see me and stay the fuck away.  They act like I’m just lurking, waiting to catch them unaware and then the second they get distracted, boom I’m going to shank them!”

No.  I didn’t miss the part where he’d said I was a cute guy.  The struggle to keep my cool was almost lost that day.

“But… do you carry a knife?” I managed to ask with a straight face.

He thought about it for a moment before declaring somewhat angrily, “That’s fucking irrelevant!”

I laughed easily, feeling warm and fuzzy.  I realized I was really glad that the bus was nearly empty.  I really liked being able to speak to Levi freely, you know- without being carted off to the loony bin.  I found myself wanting to know more about him.

“Levi?” I asked a little shyly.

“It’s not more than ten minutes away now, I swear!” he exclaimed.

“What?  No!  That’s not what I going to ask,” I chuckled.

“Oh,” he seemed a little confused.  “Well, then what do you want?  Spit it out, brat.”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want,” I started hesitantly.  “I was just curious about your childhood.  I mean, you said you had problems with the law before, and now you’re- well, you know…” I was too embarrassed to even continue.

“Ah, I see,” he said, not sounding very surprised at the question.  “You want to know what drove me to my glamorous life of crime?”

“M-maybe,” I stuttered nervously.  “I mean- I know I’m being the biggest most awkward nerd for even asking.  But I- I just wanted to know more about you.  I’m really curious.”  He didn’t say anything for a while which made me start wishing I could just die on the spot.  I gave an awkward laugh and started to backpedal immediately.  “Y-you know what?  Never mind, you don’t have to answer.  I feel really stupid for even thinking-”

“I didn’t really have much of a choice,” he said suddenly.  I shut my mouth and paid close attention, not wanting to miss anything.  “I lost my parents at an early age and was left in the care of my uncle.  Psh!  He wasn’t a parent.  He didn’t really know what it was to _be_ a parent.  His own parents had barely met his needs to keep him alive, keep him out of trouble and as soon as he was legal- he was out the door.  Not their problem anymore.  He was barely making enough to survive on his own.  Then I came along, and- well, I learned early on that I was nothing but a burden to that man.  He acted like he was starving himself for my sake, to give me enough to eat, to put clothes on my back, a roof over my head and he made me feel like absolute shit all the fucking time.  Rat bastard.  He encouraged me to eat over at my friend’s houses as often as possible to cut down on our food costs.  We also got most of my clothes for free at churches and whatnot.  He pretty much never spent a dime on me and I was just happy to have a home, you know?  Fuck!  What did I know?

“When I was old enough to start paying attention, I started noticing some things.  I noticed my uncle didn’t really have a job, he just hung out at home most of the time.  I noticed people came over to see him all the time, all day long, sometimes even at odd hours.    So I got to thinking, if my uncle has no job how can we afford our apartment?  All our neighbors had jobs.  All my friend’s parents had jobs.  How could he afford his car?  He had a sleek black sedan and it was always in pristine condition.  I started poking around and come to find out he was selling drugs.  Well!  That- that in itself was neither surprising nor that big of a deal to me.  I was kind of pissed that he got shiny nice new things all the time, and he was probably lying about not having enough money for food all the time, but I was still young and illegal activities got you thrown in jail.  I didn’t want to lose the only home available to me.  So I kept quiet about it.  I just put up with him as I always had and secretly started counting down the months until I turned eighteen and could be on my own.

“Believe me Eren, I had no intention of getting involved in his fucked up world.  That was the last thing I wanted, to be like _that_ fucker.  I wanted to be better than him.  I wanted an honest life, something my parents would have been proud of.  It was my dream for the longest time.  But life has a funny way of fucking you up and well- sometimes it’s just unavoidable.  When I turned sixteen, I found out that my uncle had money.  _My_ money!  My parents had left insurance for my care and he was getting it.  But I was not seeing a dime of it.  He was gambling it away, playing fucking cards with his low-life friends!  Yes, I got fucking mad!  I confronted him about it and he didn’t even try to deny it.  Too bad, though.  He’d already gambled it all away and there was nothing left.  He showed me the paperwork to prove it.  Well, that’s when I kind of snapped.  I started dealing without his knowledge, started stealing his merch and his customers, a little bit at a time.  Eventually I made enough connections where I had my own source and didn’t need him.  Then I stole _all_ his customers.  He was so fucking mad, he threw me out of the apartment.  I laughed in his face.  I didn’t need that scum anymore and I was more than happy to have gotten some kind of revenge.  I got myself emancipated, tested out of high school, got my diploma early and got my own place. 

“If things had stayed like that… I think I _might_ have gotten out of the business.  My life _might_ have taken a different route even then.  But we’ll never know that now.  Once again, that’s just not how things turned out.  He got himself into trouble, big trouble with the cops.  So what does he do?  He fucking ratted me out!  Worked out some kind of deal with them for a lesser sentence.  I was carted off in the middle of the night, in front of all my new neighbors to jail.  Not juvenile hall- no.  I was emancipated, so I was an adult in their eyes.” 

I heard him take in a deep breath.  Probably to calm his nerves, because he sounded like he was going to explode.

“Every man has his breaking point Eren, and that was mine.  I’m not proud of myself.  But, I don’t regret it as much as I think I should either.  I told myself- and I threatened him too- if he ever fucked with me again I was going to end him.  Once I got out of jail, I didn’t waste any time before picking up where I left off.  Once again, that idiot got himself in trouble.  He got into some gambling debts with people you do not want to mess with!  He should have known better, that fucking bastard.  I- um… I didn’t help him.  Not only did I not help him.  I beat the shit out of him and hand delivered him myself.  I never saw him after that.  Don’t know what became of him.”

I was speechless.  What could I possibly say?  Everything would sound so superficial, so stupid coming from someone like me who’d never known hardship in his life.  Sure, my life was fucked up in my eyes- but not like _that_!  No one should ever have to go through something like that.  I wanted to wrap my arms around him and comfort him, but- I couldn’t even do that.  He wasn’t even tangible.  Fuck!  I hugged myself instead.  Since he was in my body maybe that would count for something?

“Why are you crying?” he asked suddenly.

“I’m not crying!” I wiped at my eyes furiously.  If there was no evidence, then it hadn’t really happened.

“It was a long time ago, kid,” he exhaled loudly.  “I’m touched that you even care.  But it’s past now.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Levi?” I asked quietly. 

“Jesus!  If you say something stupid right now I swear to god I will tell all your friends.  Don’t make me do it Eren!”

“I just wanted to say… Well, I think talking to you- just getting to know you is probably the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.  For what it’s worth, I’m really glad we met.”

He was silent for a while.  It's really fucking hard to know what someone's thinking when you can't see their face, it was frustrating.

“And I don’t care if you tell my friends,” I added for good measure.

To my surprise, he started laughing.  Not loud and boisterous like he was ridiculing me, more like he was trying to stifle it- like he was embarrassed.

“Shitty brat.” 

It was hard for me to get offended when he said it like that.  Not like an insult.  Like a term of endearment.

I couldn’t keep the stupid smile off my face even if I tried.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already have half of next chapter done, so the wait won't be so long this time.  
> That's a good thing right?
> 
> *Flees into the ether*


	5. Getting Warmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren makes new friends and Levi finally gets a lead.

* * *

 

Ok, we were definitely not in Kansas anymore. 

The neighborhood we were in was just like any other around the college, normal middle class cookie cutter houses on a quiet street, a random apartment community here and there… with maybe a couple tiny exceptions.  Such as the fact that all the advertisements and businesses were in a foreign language.  People seemed more at ease to hang out freely and socialize noisily in the street here than they would in my uptight neighborhood.  Kids rode their bikes as carefree as the wind, laughing and smiling, having a grand old time. 

That’s right kids, live it up.  Laugh it up while you can.  It’s so obvious you don’t have a Mikasa in your life to push you over just for the fun of seeing you crying with scraped up knees and later run crying to your parents that you had fallen and hurt yourself.  No Dean Graves, _Esquire_ (insert stick up his ass here) coming over to complain to your parents because you dared to hit your baseball over _his_ fence into _his_ perfectly manicured yard and had the further gall to show up at his doorstep covered in dirt with your noisy hooligan friend (Armin) asking if  you could retrieve said baseball.  Go ahead, have your little oblivious joyful fun with nothing to stop you.  I’m not bitter at all.

I must have been glaring because the adults were giving me suspicious glances out of the corner of their eyes.  Not that I blamed them- I was an outsider, I didn’t belong there.  I would look at me that way too. 

‘Stupid Eren, what the heck are you doing here?  Shouldn’t you be chugging beer at some frat party, being a loud obnoxious asshole?’

Ok, maybe I was projecting my feelings there. 

I put in my earphones, praying to god that no one would approach me because I could not for the life of me think of any reason as to why I would be there.  I couldn’t even pretend to have a friend who lived there cause I’d get called out on it so fast my head would spin.  (Ha ha ha!  Me?  _Friends?_   Even I wouldn’t buy it.)  As per usual I would just have to hope no one said anything and if they did… well then I’d just have to wing it. 

I got a lot of looks from the people passing by.  I smiled as politely as I could without calling any attention to myself.  They would mostly smile back awkwardly with a look that said ‘what the fuck?’  That wasn’t their fault though, I think anyone seeing some random college kid just hanging around all scruffed up with slightly torn dirty clothes and a big shiner to boot would be feeling at least a little uncomfortable.

I remembered the name of the person Levi said lived here ‘El Flaco.’  I had asked him if he knew what his real name was and he just answered adamantly, “El Flaco _is_ his name.  Why do you ask?”

“That doesn’t sound like an actual name,” I explained.  “More like a nickname.”

He just scoffed and said “Well, fuck if I know.” 

And based on that I felt it was safe to say that Levi wasn’t very fluent in Spanish, so I was on my own.

A phone suddenly buzzed in my pocket.  It wasn’t mine, so that meant someone was trying to contact Levi.  I contemplated ignoring the alert and giving Levi his privacy for about a full millisecond before I fished it out and checked to see who it was.  Don’t judge me, it’s not like he could do it right?

It was a text message from some guy.  Apparently he was now fired because this was the second day in a row he hadn’t shown up for his shift. 

What the fuck?  Levi had an actual job?  I remembered him saying the drugs were a second job, so I guessed that made sense.  But damn, now he was going to be unemployed.  How could he possibly explain his disappearance to them?

My stomach chose that moment to start growling, reminding me that I had skipped a meal and that it wasn’t going to take it lying down.  I looked around to see if there was a nearby fast food place where I could grab something real quick.  Hopefully I could finish eating before Levi was done scoping the place out.  It was way past lunchtime, I’d had a rough morning, I knew I needed to eat, but… it made me really uncomfortable at the same time.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Levi.  His body probably needed nourishment too- probably really badly at this point.  If I dwelled on it I would lose my appetite.  It just felt… really fucked up.  As it was, I could only convince myself that I had to do it because I needed to be strong enough to help him.  I absolutely had to eat, had to keep up my strength; for his sake.  I’d be pretty useless to him all passed out from hunger.

There weren’t really that many places around because we were in a residential zone now.  I couldn’t remember if we’d seen anything but 7-11’s and dentist’s offices before we got off the bus.  I pulled up the internet on my phone and searched nearby eating places to check my closest options.

I still had my earphones and music on so I didn’t hear when some kids approached me until they were right next to me.

“Oye gringo!"

I jumped from surprise and jerked my head up to see who was talking to me.  There were three of them- the one who’d spoken was a blonde guy about the same height as me; beside him was a pretty girl, her skin slightly more tan than mine with dark hair and pigtails; and behind them both was a dark haired quiet seeming guy.  They were young, most likely still in high school.

Hey!  (My brain was finally catching up) Why’d he called me a gringo?  He was blonde with light eyes and hella pale skin.  Was he pulling my leg?   

“Que haces por aquí?" he asked while sizing me up.  “Estas perdido o que?"

(“What are you doing around here?  Are you lost or what?”)

That didn’t _sound_ confrontational, so I supposed they weren’t looking for trouble.

“Si,” I nodded slowly.  “Estoy perdido... y tengo hambre?”

(“Yes, I’m lost… and I’m hungry?”)

I don’t know why I’d made it sound like a question.

They all snickered before the blonde one addressed me again.

“Ah, hablas Español.  Y qué?  Piensas qué nosotros te vamos a dar de comer?  Nosotros no somos tu madre, hijo."

(“Oh, you speak Spanish.  And what, you think we’re going to feed you?  We’re not your mom, son.”)

I could feel my face heat up.  Damn this was embarrassing…

“No!  Claro qué no!"  I said trying not to get flustered but failing miserably.  “Pero si me pueden recomendar un buen lugar para comer, estaría muy agradecido?"

(“No, of course not!  But if you could recommend a good place to eat, I would be really grateful?”)

“What, like Taco Bell?” he said suddenly in perfect English which caused his friends to burst out laughing harder. 

That fucker!

I should have focused more on being pissed that they were making fun of me like this, that they were rude little punks having a laugh at my expense, but as always my mind wandered elsewhere.

Taco Bell?  Excuse you? 

My face contorted in disgust and I loudly exclaimed, “Taco Bell?!  Ugh gross…”

I couldn’t help it, it was a knee-jerk reaction.  I couldn’t stand that food.

“We’re just messing with you, man,” he rolled his eyes.  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, jeez.”  He then patted my shoulder as a way to show no hard feelings- I guess.  “My name is Thomas, this here is Mina and the douche behind me is Shorty,” he pointed behind himself with his thumb.  “For obvious reasons of course.” 

I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped my mouth.

“Shorty?” I blurted out.  “Obvious to whom?!” 

Shorty was fucking taller than all of us. 

“Well it’s really Samuel, but he prefers Shorty,” Mina explained defensively. 

“He’s sensitive about his height, you prick,” Thomas shook his head at me. 

I couldn’t tell if ‘Shorty’ was glaring down at me or not because he was wearing sunglasses.

“Ok, I’m sorry,” I apologized meekly.  “Anyway, my name’s Eren,” I said as politely as I could and shook their hands.  “Nice to meet you.”

“Eren, are you actually lost and hungry?” Mina asked with concern all of a sudden.  “Cause we kind of thought maybe that was the only Spanish you knew…”

“Yes actually, I kind of missed lunch… so,” I admitted as I nervously scratched the back of my head. 

“Dude!  Lunch was _hours_ ago,” Thomas exclaimed incredulously.  “It’s going to be dark soon!”

“It’s almost time for _dinner_ Eren,” Mina scolded.

“I know,” I sighed.  I showed them the place I had Googled on my phone.  “Is this place any good?”

“Madre santísima!"  Mina screeched.  Her face scrunched in disgust. “Ni lo mande Dios!"

(“Holy mother!  God forbid such a thing!”) 

I smiled at her outrage.  Well now you know how I feel about Taco Bell, I thought.  More like Taco _Hell_ , thank you.

“Escuchame bien Eren,"  Thomas said gravely.  He pointed to the image on my phone.  “Nadie come en ese lugar.  Me entiendes?  Nadie!"

(“Listen to me carefully Eren, _no one_ eats at that place.  Got it?  No one!”) 

“Is it- is it really that bad?” I asked.  They all nodded emphatically.  “How do they stay in business then?”

The three shared a look before Thomas leaned in and said in a hushed voice, “It’s a front.  They don’t really care about staying in business.  You know how that is.”

I had to think about that for a second before my brain light finally flickered on.

Ohhhh…. money laundering.  No, I really didn’t know how that was, but I nodded nonetheless.

“You should go to Don Jose’s,” Shorty finally spoke.  More like boomed, damn his voice was deep!  “It’s just down the street.”

The other two’s faces lit up and they voiced their hearty approval.  Don Jose’s it was then.

“Hey!” a loud voice suddenly boomed from the door of the house we were standing next to.  “You kids having a fucking party out there or what?  Get the fuck off my lawn!”

So this was El Flaco.  Ew, he sounded like a giant douche.  I couldn’t really make him out because he stayed behind the screen door, but he sounded really angry and anti-social.

“No one cares about your stupid lawn, old man!” Mina yelled back.  “And we were just leaving anyway, so don’t go having a fucking heart attack.  God!”

She wove her arm around mine and started to walk away pulling me along.  The others followed.

El Flaco muttered obscenities at us before slamming his door shut.

“Don’t listen to that guy, he’s a jerk,” Thomas said apologetically.

“Do you guys know him?” I asked.

“Tch!  _Everyone_ knows him,” he proclaimed.  “He’s the neighborhood junkie.  No one you want to get involved with.”

I chewed on my bottom lip.  It was a nervous habit.  If El Flaco was the neighborhood pariah, then what did it say about Levi that he was close enough to the guy to have him on our list?  It made my stomach queasy in a way that had nothing to do with hunger.

When we got to the street corner the guys declared this was as far as they could hang out with me.  They apologized profusely for not being able to walk me all the way to the restaurant, but they apparently had to be home in time for dinner or their respective parents would give them hell.  We exchanged phone numbers and promised a future trip to Don Jose’s together.  I couldn’t imagine why they would even want to hang out with me, but I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Levi joined me as soon as they were gone.

“What the fuck was that about?” he asked sounding highly amused.

“What?  I couldn’t think of anything else to say to them.” 

“You didn’t tell me you spoke Spanish, brat.”

“Oh that,” I felt my face heat up.  “Yeah… but my accent’s shit.”

“No, it sounded pretty damn good to me.”

I smiled.  Because I was a sappy little idiot of course, that’s why.

“Well, my Dad always felt it was good for a doctor to be able to speak at least one other language.  You know, so he could better communicate with his patients.”

“A doctor huh?  Let me guess, your dad is a doctor?”

I made a noise suspiciously sounding like a raspberry. 

“Of course!” I rolled my yes.  Then I declared in my most official sounding voice, “henceforth and therefore I must also be one.  Thusly it was written and thusly shall it be.”

“Very mature, brat.  Does your Dad speak another language?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think it should count.  I mean he _is_ German, so that was like a given for him.  Plus, there isn’t really a lot of opportunity for him to use it in this part of the world.”

“Damn brat!  It’s not always a given.  You’re German.  Do _you_ speak German?”

I sighed in defeat.

“Ok, smart-ass, I get your point.  I know so very little German it’s embarrassing.  Yet another thing I fail at.”

“Tch!  It’s not a fucking contest Eren.  Everyone has things they’re good at and things they’re not so good at.  That’s just life.  I mean, how boring would it be if we were all the same?”

I supposed he was right.  It’s just hearing over and over all your life that you weren’t good enough, that you weren’t living up to some standard made you kind of believe it. 

“Where were you heading to anyway?”

“Um… nowhere,” I lied.  (Sorry stomach, I will make this up to you somehow.  I swear it!)  “We should get to the next place.  It’s going to get dark soon.”

“You’re right,” he said with a bit of mischief in his voice.  “I’m not sure if you’ll like where we’re going next though.”

“What?  Why?”

"We're going to a house party," he remarked sadistically.  "Full of rowdy drunk college kids."

I cringed.  Internally and externally.

"Can we not?" I asked without any real hope of him agreeing.

"Sorry," he said sounding like he was enjoying this way too much and not actually feeling the slightest bit sorry at all.  "I got a lead and we have to to there."

"What lead?"

“Well, there was nothing inside El Flaco’s apartment.  But he was on the phone the whole time I was there, so naturally I listened in to his conversation.  I mean, how could I not?  He’s so fucking loud!  Anyway, he was speaking to friends of his, I guess, and mentioned he would be going over to pick up his usual order at their place.  Plus they were assuring him their weed was way better than mine, and he wouldn’t regret switching.”

Dammit, I was too hungry to connect the fucking dots.  Come on Levi, you have to give me more information than this!

“And…?” I prompted.

“ _And…_ El Flaco said he couldn’t wait to see what the big surprise was they had secured and waiting for him.”

“I don’t understand-”

“I know those guys,” he cut me off.  “They fucking hate my ass!  I mean hate with a _passion_ , you don’t even understand!  And I didn’t even know until today that my alleged ‘friend’ El Flaco is friends with them.  Real close friends from back in the day from what I could tell.” 

Oh crap!  A surprise 'secured and waiting for him'... could that be Levi's body? 

“Well shit,” was about all I could think to reply.  

That meant El Flaco wasn't ever really his friend at all.  It had been a really bad judgment call to let that guy get close.  I guess even a guy like Levi can make mistakes in the people be befriends.

“That motherfucker…” Levi muttered to himself.

His phone buzzed in my pocket again and reminded me that I had even more bad news to deliver to him.

“Um… this may not be the best time…” I started slowly.

“What is it brat?” he asked a little impatiently.

“You uh… kind of lost your job…” I mumbled as I swiped his phone screen so he could view his messages.

“Fuck!” he declared loudly to no one.

We didn’t speak the rest of way to the bus stop.  I couldn’t really think of anything to say, I was feeling really horrible about his situation and feeling worse by the minute.

The next spot would be our last location for that night.  If we didn’t find anything there we would have to brainstorm tonight and come up with another strategy for tomorrow.  I kept the thought of tomorrow buried deep inside my head.  I didn’t really want to face it yet.  Tomorrow would be day three for Levi and most likely the last day in which we could hope to find him alive.  I found myself pleading with a god I wasn’t really sure existed that we would find something at this next place.  Otherwise I was going to have a hard time keeping myself together.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure how to feel about this chapter.  
> It was amusing to me and important things happened but I realize it might not be everybody's cup of tea.
> 
> Also even though I'm Hispanic, Spanish is my second language smh. No I didn't use Google translate. No I don't know proper accent marks and whatnot so any mistakes are all mine.
> 
> Oh well, next chapter is going to be angst with a capital A and then we will be nearing the end, so...


End file.
